Fire and Water Don't Mix
by DeaththeKidSoCrazy
Summary: Misa has lost all her memories. She just woke up one day in the middle of the Fire Nation Capital with no knowledge except her name and that she was a water bender. She's taken in by the royal family and Zuko and her become best friends. But when he learns of her bending, he feels betrayed and she leaves to travel with the Avatar.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Well, I guess my story starts when I woke up. I was staring at the sky, lying on a hard surface. Sitting up, I looked around. It seemed that I was in some sort if ally. _What happened? How did I get here?_ I thought as I rubbed my head, which was throbbing a little. I tried to remember what had happened and how I got there, but found I couldn't remember anything. I did a little mental check over. _What's my name?_ _Misao Mizuki._ OK. Well I remember that. _How old am I? 8. What am I? A Water Bender. Where am I?_ _ummmm... uuuuuhhh... _I didn't know. And I couldn't remember anything else than that. Absolutely nothing.  
I stood up and walked to the street. I could see many people walking around. I tapped on the nearest persons shoulder. "I'm sorry," I began, "this is going to sound like a weird question, but where am I?"  
"You're in the Fire Nation Capital," he told me.  
"Oh, thanks," I told him and he walked away. I began to cross the street and heard a loud sound. I turned towards the source to find a large Dragon Moose rearing up on its hind legs. A scream escaped my lips and I fell, shielding my face with my arms.  
The driver hopped off, holding a whip.  
"You insolent little girl!" He shouted. "How dare you get in the way of an imperial carriage? I'll teach you a lesson you will never forget!" He brought up his whip to strike me and at the last second I heard a door open and close and someone scream "No! Stop!" A woman came running towards us. She wore extravagant clothing, suggesting royalty. She knelt down next to me.  
"Are you ok, sweetie?" She asked concerned.  
"Umm... I think so... I'm not sure," I told her truthfully.  
"What's your name?"  
"Misao Mizuki, miss."  
"How old are you dear?"  
"Eight, miss."  
She smiled softly. "Where are your parents?"  
"I-I don't know. I'm not sure how I got here or who my parents are..." I began to have a little panic attack.  
"Shh, sweetie, calm down," She helped me up. She looked at me with analyzing eyes and then smiled slightly. "Come with me," she said softly and then led me into her carriage. Sitting across from her, I began to feel very conscious of myself. I wore grubby, ragged clothes and she was wearing beautiful, imperial robes of fine silk. I pulled nervously at my shirt and wondered exactly who she was. She had to be a noble of some kind. I just burst out with the question, "Who are you?" and then immediately regretted it.  
"I m-mean, I don't know who you are and I was just wondering_..." Oh, god! What am I doing?  
_She laughed. Then, she told me something so astonishing. She was married to Ozai, son of the Fire Lord!  
My eyes widened. Quickly, I bowed to her, blushing. "I'm sorry for before, your highness! I didn't realize you were the princess!"  
She, again, laughed and told me I didn't have to bow. She looked at me and then a puzzled expression crossed her face. "How did you end up here? I mean, you look like a fire nation civilian, but something about you seems different..."  
"Umm, well," I began, scratching my head, "I don't really remember much of anything, heh heh," I laughed nervously.

At first she gave me a blank expression but then quickly gave me a smile. "Well, then you will stay with me in the palace until you remember."  
My eyes opened wide with surprise. Me? Stay in the palace?! Is that even aloud? "Oh! I can't! I don't want to-"  
"You're staying with us and that is final," he said firmly. I heard her mumble, "I just have to get my father-in-law to approve..." but I didn't ask about that. I heard he was a scary guy (but I'm not sure where...).

We arrived at the palace and were immediately swarmed by servants. The sudden onslaught of people startled me and I clung to Ursa's sleeve. She placed a protective arm around me and pushed her way through the servants towards the palace. We entered and made our way to a dark room. All the way at the end was a wall of fire and behind sat a man. I couldn't see his face very well from the shadows the fire cast, but I got a foreboding feeling from him. I watched Ursa bow and quickly did the same.  
"Who is this girl? Why have you brought her here, Ursa?" a voice asked. The man's voice sounded older, but still held a strict and fearful tone. I inwardly shivered at his harshness.  
"Azulon, she has no home and her memories are gone. Please, I want her to stay here in the palace with us, just until her memories return and she has found her parents."  
"Ursa," the man, began, "We can't just let anyone into the palace! She's not of nobility! I can't-"  
"Please, father!" She looked at him with pleading eyes. "I think this would be good for Zuko. He needs a friend his age."  
Lord Azulon seemed to be considering us, though I could not see his face. I heard him sigh and then he spoke. "Fine. But bring the girl closer. I want to get a good look at her."  
Ursa smiled and brought me forward. The man stayed seated and began asking me questions like my name, age, where I came from and stuff like that. Many I couldn't answer due to my amnesia but I answered to the best of my ability. After a while he stopped asking and then looked at Ursa. "Take her and clean her up. I want her as clean and spotless as if she was one of my own grand-children!"

"Thank you, father," Ursa bowed and then took me and left. She smiled at me. "I'm so glad he's allowing you to stay with us! If you hadn't figured it out, my husbands can be very harsh and stubborn. But, enough about him, let's get you cleaned up a bit, ok?"

I looked at her and then broke into a huge smile and nodded. We went into a small wash room where I took a soothing bath. It felt good to get all the soot and grime from my skin. Next, Ursa sat and did my hair, trimming away dead ends and then cutting an inch or two from it. She lathered in something then set to work on my nails and skin. After much moisturizing, and nail trimming, we Ursa gave me a kimono. I slipped it on as she as she fixed up my hair so it wouldn't be on the back of my dress (it was still wet). She took a step back and sighed. "You look like a real young lady," she said proudly.  
I blushed madly, looking at the ground smiling. She then took my hand and began leading my out of the room.  
"Come meet my family," she said.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

In the courtyard were four children. There was a group of 3 girls playing and giggling and laughing, and a boy sitting by himself feeding the turtle ducks.  
One of the girls, with dark hair and a scary look about her, saw Ursa and me and ran over, her friends following. "Who is this, mom?" she asked in a sickly sweet voice. The boy came over too.  
"This is Misao. She'll be staying with us for a while. Misao, this is my daughter, Azula, and her friends Mai," motioning to a dark girl with a bored expression on her face, "and Tai Lee," motioning to the girl in pink with brown hair. Azula gave me a "hi" and her and her friends walked away. "And this is my son, Zuko." The boy looked at his mother then at me. I smiled and said, "Hello!" He looked down, said a quick hello back, and then rushed back to the duck pond. I looked up at Ursa, and she sighed.  
"My son. He's... a little shy. Stay here for a sec, Okay?"  
I nodded. She walked over to the boy, Zuko, and sat next to him. She talked to him softly. He just looked at the ground, avoiding his mother's eyes. They talked back and forth for a few minutes. Then, Ursa stood up and walked back over to me. "I think he's ready to talk to you. I have to go back inside, but I will see you in a little while." I gave her a bow, and she left. I then walked over to Zuko and plopped down next to him. We didn't say much for a while. It was pretty awkward... Until I couldn't take it anymore! I tuned to him and said, "Tell me about you!" He looked up, startled. He stuttered, "Uh-uh, well, I have black hair-" he started dumbly.  
"Not that!" I almost shouted. I quickly lowered my voice a bit and said, "Tell me stuff about_ you_!"  
"Well, I don't know what you mean!" he rebutted. "You start!"  
"OK, well, my name is Misao! I'm 8 years old. I like the color blue, and I don't like bugs and I don't remember anything else." I omitted the part about being a water bender because I had a feeling if I did something bad might happen if I did.  
"You remember nothing?!" Zuko said incredulously, his eyes wide.  
"I just said that!" I told him.  
"So you don't remember anything? You parents, aunts or uncles?"  
"No one. Now tell me about you!"  
"Ok. Well, my name is Zuko. I'm a fire bender. I like turtle-ducks and my mother, and I don't like my sister." He told me.  
I looked over to where Azula, Mai, and Tai Lee were playing. Azula seemed to take charge of them, making them do what she wanted by force. "Yeah, she seems kinda mean." I observed.  
"You can say that again," he sighed. He picked off some more pieces of bread for the turtle-ducks from the wad in his hand and threw in into the water. The turtle-ducks quickly gobbled them up. I watched a small smile grow of Zuko's face.  
"We'll Zuko," I said standing up. "What do you want to do?"  
He looked up at me with a confused face.  
"I don't want to just sit here all day! Let's play something!" I pulled him to his feet.  
"OK, but what should we do?" he asked.  
"I don't know! Let's climb a tree! Or play tag! Or hide-and-seek!" I jumped around excitedly. I wanted to have fun. We started by playing some one on one hide-and-seek. I counted first and found him almost immediately. When I hid it took him a while to find me. But he did, so I counted again. He must of gotten smart while finding me because it took me FOREVER to track him down. After I finally did, we played tag for a while then climb into a tree and hung there for a while, though time seemed to fly. We were laughing and giggling and joking around like old friends. It felt good. It felt really good. I felt like I hadn't laughed like this in a long time. I sat back in the tree and let out a sigh.  
Zuko gave me a concerned look. "What's wrong?" he asked.  
"Huh? Oh, nothing really. It's just..." I felt as if I could trust him so I told him exactly how I felt.  
"Well, maybe you haven't. I haven't either," Zuko responded, looking off into the leaves in front of him.  
"Why's that?" I wondered.  
"I haven't had any reason too. The only joy I get is from my mother. She's the only one who shows any real kindness to me. Azula hates me. She thinks I'm inferior to her so she treats me horribly. Father also finds me weak. He has no time for me. I know he hates me." He began avoiding my eye contact.  
Something in my heart broke. This poor boy. "Do you have any friends at all?" I asked tentatively?  
He looked at me with a sweet smile. "I do now."  
My heart soared! I had a friend now too!

Just then, we heard Ursa calling for us. We jumped out of the tree and ran over to her, holding each other's hands. We released hands to grab Ursa's. She led us to the dinner hall. Before we went in, Ursa told me to wait outside. She went into the room and then came back out, a man following her. He looked very stern and I realized this had to be Zuko's father! I quickly bowed deeply to the man. He turned to face Ursa and said, "Is that the... girl you found on the streets?"  
Ursa nodded. Ozai gave me one last look, then turned and went back into the room. Before he had turned all the way around, I could have sworn there was a look of disgust on his face. Ursa then took me into the dining room.  
She introduced me to everyone else. A sudden rush of shyness over took me and I sat there eating in silence. In time, I would learn to more comfortable around most of them, especially General Iroh, whom I would come to call Uncle.  
After dinner, Ursa showed me to my room. She showed me around it, got me settled a bit, and then left. The room was so big! I even had me own bathroom. There wasn't much in clothing, but Ursa told me we were going to get some tomorrow. I slipped out of my kimono and put on a simple night gown. I snuggled us under the covers and I quickly fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

*5 years Later*

I spent the next five years living at the palace. Within that time, a horrible tragedy happened. Fire Lord Azulon died. I remember that day clearly. Lord Ozai had Zuko and Azula show off some of their fire bending moves. I went in there with Ursa to watch. They both showed what they could do, Azula's fire bending being significantly better than Zuko's. It made me sad to see that. Especially since Zuko trained so hard and Azula just seemed to be able to perform without trying. Lord Azulon seemed unimpressed and demanded Ursa, Zuko, Azula, and I leave. Azula, Zuko, and I eavesdropped on their conversation. As we listened, we heard Ozai voiced his desire to be made heir of the throne in place of Iroh, supporting this by pointing out that Iroh overwhelming grief of losing is son and subsequent erratic behavior made the date of his return from war uncertain. He also pointed out that Iroh had no remaining heirs to inherent the throne after his death. Lord Azulon, however, was outraged and declared angrily, "Iroh has suffered enough, but your suffering had just begun." I felt Zuko leave my side. I turned to see him running away, and I quickly followed. A little later, while we were in Zuko's room Azula came in and mockingly told Zuko that Azulon's punishment for Ozai is that he must kill Zuko, as he wanted him to know what it felt like to lose a child. I stood up quickly, shaking with anger.  
"Go away, Azula!" I shouted. "You have no right to tease people like that!"  
"My, my. Look who's become rather bold," said Azula calmly. She walked up to me. She got real close to my face and said slyly, "I'd watch your step if I were you."  
Hearing the commotion, Ursa came in and took Azula away, declaring it was time that they talked.  
I turned to Zuko, and saw him sitting on his bed, a fearful look on his face. He was mumbling something I couldn't quite make out. It sounded like, "Azula always lies" but I wasn't sure.  
Seeing his state, I just over to him and pulled him into a hug. "Don't listen to her, Zuko. She's just trying to get you down." I stayed with him until he had calmed down, and then left to go to sleep. Later that night, I was awoken by someone. At first, I couldn't tell who it due to the darkness, but as my eyes adjusted I saw it to be Ursa.  
"W-wha?" I rubbed sleep from my eyes.  
"Shhhh, listen to me. I must tell you this before I leave. I have betrayed this kingdom, and therefore must leave. But remember, it was to protect you all. But you need to be very careful, Misao. My husband was never very fond of you to begin with so he wouldn't hesitate to banish you as well. If it were not for you befriending Zuko, that is. But, you must stick with him. No matter how much Azula torments you, no matter how much abuse you get from her and/or her friends, stay here. Iroh will protect you. I want to you to keep an eye on Zuko for me. And also, never forget who you are! Hold your pride high and don't let anything get to you. And make sure you keep practicing your water bending." She winked at me.  
"But how-"  
"I have my ways. Just keep it more hidden next time." She gave me a hug and kissed my forehead. And with that, she left. I sat there for a minute, unsure what had happened. Then, sleep over took me and I fell into a slumber.  
When I woke up in the morning, last night's memories rushed back to me. I ran to Zuko, waking him up. At first he was disoriented. Then, he seemed to remember something and uttered one word. "Mommy?"  
He jumped up and ran out of his room and down the hall. I followed quickly, trying to keep up. We ran into Azula down in the grand hall.  
"What happened?!" Zuko asked anxiously. "Where's mom?"  
"Gone," she said in a bored voice.  
"Gone?!" I almost shouted. "Where?!"  
"I don't know," she replied. "But didn't you hear? Grandfather died last night. And now father has become Fire Lord."  
Zuko stared at her. "Dead? Father? Fire Lord? But I thought grandfather wouldn't let him."  
Azula told us Azulons dying wish was for Ozai to become Fire Lord.  
So Lord Ozai became Fire Lord Ozai. And Ursa had just disappeared.

I never remember anything else about my past so Uncle Iroh never let me leave. I endeared much abuse from Azula, just as Ursa had predicted. But that just made Zuko and I become closer. We stuck together like glue and together, endured the disapproving sneers from the Fire Lord and taunts from Azula. We told each other everything- well almost everything. I told no one about being a water bender, _especially_ after I learned more about the war and how the fire nation wiped out all the air nomads. I practiced in secret; in my room, while in the shower- any place I could for I didn't want to lose this ability. Life was going fine. Well, up until today.  
I was sitting by the turtle-duck pond under the shade of a tree when Zuko ran over with an excited expression on his face. "Misao! Misao!" He called excitedly. "Over here!" I called to him and he ran over to me.  
"Guess what!"  
"Ummmmm... I don't know what?" I responded, standing up.  
"Uncle's going to let me into a war meeting!" he told me.  
"Oh my! Zuko, that great!" I gave him a huge hug. He'd wanted to go into one of those meetings for as long as I can remember. I guess now that he's 13, Uncle Iroh thinks he's mature enough. Either that or Uncle cracked under Zuko's persistence... I think it was the second one.  
We both ran inside and I helped Zuko get ready. I gave him a quick hug before he went in and told him I wanted to know what happened. I then went back outside to enjoy the fresh air.  
Not two hours later, Zuko came out to me. "Hey! How did it go?" I asked, hopping up to greet him.  
He looked at me. "I have to duel on the generals."  
"WHAT?!"  
He told me what had happened: The general was proposing a plan. He was going to sacrifice an entire division of new recruits in a diversionary maneuver. Zuko, strongly disagreeing with the idea, burst out with his opinions even though Uncle specifically told him to stay quiet. His father told him he had to battle an Agni Kai.  
I stared at him. "How could you be so stupid?!" I shouted. I couldn't help myself and slapped his arm.

"OW!" he retaliated.

"Couldn't you just hold your tongue?! I mean, yeah! That was a horrifying plan! But Uncle told you to keep your mouth shut! You defied him and now look where it's gotten you! Maybe you listen to Uncle's wise words of wisdom!" I was seething.

"Misao! Calm down! I can beat this general, no problem!" He looked at me confidently, still holding his arm where I had slapped him.

"I don't know Zuko... I have a bad feeling about this..." I started, but Iroh ran in. "Zuko!" he said. "What were you thinking? I told you not to speak..." He began to lecture him, just like I had (only less violent and with a quieter tone of voice). Again, he told his Uncle it would be a piece of cake. Iroh and I exchanged looks of concern, but we said nothing. If he was sure he could handle the general, we couldn't stop him. So the next day, the Agni Kai took place.

It was held like a sporting event. All of the major royals were invited and it seemed each and every high member of the Fire Nation's government had showed up. Iroh had me dress in my best kimono and we went out together, along with Azula, to watch.  
The two competitors stood at opposite ends of the stadium. At one end was Zuko, and the other... was Fire Lord Ozai. My eyes widened at the realization that Zuko would be fighting his father. I turned to Iroh, expressing my fears and asked if there was some kind of mistake. He told me that because it was the Fire Lord's war meeting he took the outburst personally, so therefore he would go against his son.  
Just then, Zuko stood up and turned around and assumed a ready stance. He then saw his opponent. I saw his face contort in fear and he dropped down to his knees.  
"Please Father! I only the fire nation's best interests at heart. I'm sorry I spoke out of term!" Zuko cried. I could see tears begin to run down his cheeks.  
"You will fight for your honor." Ozai responded sternly.  
"I meant you no disrespect. I am your loyal son."  
"Rise and fight, Prince Zuko!"  
"I won't fight you."  
"You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher." Ozai raised his fist and let out a long burst of fire, directed straight at Zuko. I looked away, burying my face on Uncle's shoulder. I heard a horrible scream of pain come from Zuko. The sound brought tears to my eyes, and I let them slip down my cheeks. When the screaming stopped, I timidly looked up. Zuko was huddled on the ground, clutching his face, with Lord Ozai standing over top of him.  
"You have shone shameful weakness by refusing to fight. As punishment, you are banished from the Fire Nation." I let out a gasp. "If you ever want to come back, you must find the Avatar."  
And with that, Lord Ozai left.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Uncle and I rushed to Zuko. He was curled into the fetal position, clutching his face. His father had burned the whole left side of his face. We brought him to the infirmary. As the nurse patched his up, Iroh told me he was going to pack his things. He told me he was going to go out and help Zuko on his mission.  
"I want to help too!" I said. "If you both leave, I will have nothing left here. Besides, the Fire Lord would find some way to get rid of me if I _don't_ come along." Iroh nodded and left me. I stayed in the infirmary, making sure Zuko would be OK. At some point, a servant came down and told me the Fire Lord wanted to see me. I nodded and inwardly gulped. _This can't be good_ I thought.  
Silently, the servant led me to the throne room. He gave me a sad look before departing. I took a deep breath and walked into the room.  
I knelt down and gave a deep bow. "You have called me here, sir?"  
"Yes." he said. "I'm sure you are aware that my son has been banished?" I nodded.  
"I never liked you. The only reason I ever kept you here was for my son. Therefore, you have been banished as well; though don't think that if Zuko finds the Avatar I will let you back into my kingdom as well."  
I was slightly taken aback. But I composed myself and calmly responded, "I was planning on leaving, anyway sir. I would like to accompany your son on his journeys. And even if he was able to locate and capture the Avatar, I wouldn't dream of returning here, sir."  
I had chosen my words carefully. I bowed, and turned to leave.  
"Oh," Lord Ozai said in a chilled voice. "Here is a little going away present to remember me by." I was about to turn, but was stopped by a searing and blazing pain that had erupted on my right leg. I let out a scream. Lord Ozai had burned me. He laughed manically as I half ran half limped out of the throne room. Tears streamed from my eyes. I ran to the infirmary while at the same time batting out the bits of flames clinging to my dress. Uncle was there with Zuko, whose face was patched up. When he saw me, he immediately rushed to my aid.  
"What happened?" he asked, helping me onto one of the beds. I relayed to him what had gone on.  
"You shouldn't have crossed him," Uncle told me softly.  
"I didn't!" I exclaimed. "I made sure I didn't say anything that would offend him! I think he had wanted to do that since the first time he saw me."  
A nurse came over and quickly began to treat my wounds. The skin had begun to blister and it hurt a lot when she touched it. She rubbed and cream over the burn that immediately soothed the wound. She wrapped it up and took Iroh aside. I looked at Zuko. Half his face was covered in bandages. "Oh, Zuko!" I said and pulled him onto a hug. He hugged back and we stayed like that until Uncle came back.  
"You two should go pack so your things. We should leave as soon as possible. We'll board the ship at sunset. Got it?" We both nodded and we each left for our quarters.  
I took a small trunk from in the closet and packed in some clothes, my hair brush, a book and a small sewing kit and some beautiful fabric given to me as a present from Ursa one year for my "Birthday." Since I don't know my real birthday, Zuko and I celebrated it together, since we are the same age. As I packed my things, I went through all my memories of this place and of this room and then froze. I realized that I needed to tell Uncle and Zuko about being a water bender. It wasn't an option. It had to be done.  
_I'll do it later tonight, after we've gotten a good distance away from Fire Nation shores._ My mind was set and I arranged everything neatly in my trunk before leaving. Before I went, I took a last look around and left my room, knowing I would never see it again.  
I met Uncle at the docks. He was getting the crew aboard and making sure all the supplies were too. He gave me a nod as I boarded the ship. It was a large ship, but not nearly as large as most of the other ships in the docks. Everything looked cold and unwelcoming. _Well, _I thought, _I better get used to this because this will be my home for a looooooong while.  
_I went below deck and went into one of the empty rooms. I put my trunk in the closet and went back above deck. The crew had finished loading all the supplies on and Zuko was now on-board. We took one final look at the Fire Nation before we set sail. I looked over at Zuko and saw a tear run down his cheek. I went to give him hug he just left and went under deck. Uncle told me to just let him rest. He was about to go talk to some of the crew when I remembered something. "Uncle!" I called to him. He turned to me. "I... I..." I took a deep breath and blurted it out. "I need to tell you and Zuko something after dinner." He nodded to me and turned to the crew. I went down into my room and pulled out the sewing kit and fabric and began to finish sewing the dress I was making. It was going to be for the many special occasions that went on in the palace, but now I would never get to wear it for that. I sighed. I'd find another time to wear it.  
Soon, dinner time was upon us. It was eaten in silence. All attempts at conversation, started by Uncle, were futile. When dinner was finished, Uncle said, "Um, Misa. Didn't you want to tell Zuko and me something?"

"Mmmhmmm," I hummed. "Um, I come with me." I lead them into my room, closed the door behind me, and sat down in front of Uncle and Zuko.

"Now, what I'm about to tell you is highly secret." apologize for not telling you sooner. It's just... this isn't something I could tell just anyone." I took a deep breath, bracing myself for their reactions.

"I'm a water bender." I demonstrated by bending a stream of water from the glass I had brought into my room earlier.

At first, they said nothing. The only reactions I got were as thinking look from Uncle and Zuko's eye widening. Then, Zuko spoke.

"You're a WHAT?" he shouted.

"A water bender," I repeated. He stared me. The again, he spoke.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wasn't sure who I could trust!" I said, and realized too late that was the wrong thing to say.

Zuko looked hurt. Then he stood up angrily and yelled. "I trusted you! I trusted you with all of my secrets! Why couldn't you trust me with yours?!"

I stood up, anger over taking me. "Do you think I could just tell ANYONE?! This is a HUGE secret! I couldn't just trust anyone! I could have been _killed_ if I told the wrong person! And you are the Fire Lord's _son_! I could trust you least of all with this!"  
There is not word that can justly describe the look that set into Zuko's face. It was a combination of Sad, angry, and hurt. He turned quickly and stormed from the room. I called after him, but he didn't respond. Uncle sighed and stood. "Let me talk to him," he said softly and left the room.  
He returned shortly. "Zuko just needs time to contemplate this information. In a mean time, I suggest you tell no one else this secret, especially those from the fire nation." With a bow, Uncle got up and left.  
I returned his bow and the, after he had left, sunk down onto the floor. Zuko had never yelled at me before, not like that. I hadn't meant to be so harsh to him. Of course I trusted him! He was my best friend, my only friend. I stood up to go find him, but I remembered Uncle's words and sat back down. _He'll forgive me. I mean, he can't stay forever.  
_But I was wrong. He never forgave me. The next day I had tried talking to him, but when I would approach him he would walk in a different direction. That night I couldn't help but cry. He did that for a week. He finally started to speak to me again, but it wasn't the same. He wasn't my best friend anymore. His voice was harsh and cruel, and he became a spiteful person. I gave up trying to make amends with him for he wasn't the same person I once knew. My only companion on the big ship was my Uncle. The crew was also very kind to me. But my best friend was gone and no getting him back.  
The next three years we were at sea, searching the world for the Avatar. Zuko became ever the more hateful every day, but I kept practicing my water bending. I never became especially good, for I had no formal teacher, but Uncle taught me a few of the things he learned when he studied with water benders.  
I thought my life would forever be this way. But eventually it did change. The day that changed my life happened in the South Pole one winter day.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The air was cold and crisp as we sailed towards the South Pole. Zuko's search for the Avatar was still going strong, though in the past three years we had found no trace of him.  
We were on deck, Zuko navigating and Uncle and I playing Pai Sho on the deck. It was a normal day on ship. Or so we thought.  
It was midafternoon when the strangest thing happened. A large beam of blue light lit up the sky in the direction we were going.  
"Finally," Zuko said, and I could hear the happiness in his voice, even if it wasn't that obvious. "Uncle, do you realize what this means?"  
"We won't be able to finish our game?" Iroh said sadly.  
"It means my search, it's about to come to an end," Zuko said, looking at the beam.  
Uncle sighed and moved his piece on the board. _What could that light be?_ I thought. _It couldn't possibly be the Avatar, could it?  
_"That light came from an incredibly powerful source!" Zuko said. "It has to be him!"  
Uncle answered, "Oh, it's just the celestial lights. We've been down this road before, Prince Zuko." He contemplated carefully where to place his next tile. "I don't want you to get too excited over nothing." He placed it down, blocking the move I was just about to make to get ahead of him. I've never beaten him, and probably never will. "Please, sit. Why don't you enjoy a cup of calming jasmine tea?"  
Zuko turned around quickly and shouted, "I don't need any calming tea! I need to capture the Avatar!" He looked up to the top deck. "Helmsmen! Head a course for the light!"  
The helmsmen responded with a "Yes sir!" and turned the ship justly. I shook my head a little bit. The past three years had been filled with dozens of false leads and big disappointments. We searched everywhere in the world for him, but we just can't! But for some reason Zuko still hadn't given up on finding him. I could never understand what gave him such motivation until asked Uncle on day. It was about a year after we had been banished, and Zuko and I had been fighting with each other about where we should be heading. He wanted to go to the North Pole to search for the Avatar, but I thought we needed to go to the Earth Kingdom and buy supplies. I had given up, seeing that he wouldn't give in, and left. I went into my room and began to silently cry. I did this every time we fought. It just made me miss my best friend.  
Someone knocked on my door, and I panicked a little. I quickly wiped the tears from my face and asked, "Who is it?" The voice of my Uncle answered, and I sighed a bit, glad that it wasn't a crew member. I let him in, but the sight of him just made me burst into tears again. He sat down with me, his arm around my shoulders telling me everything would be fine.  
"I heard you to yelling at each other," he said quietly.  
I sniffed and responded bitterly, "How could you not? We were practically screaming."  
"Arguing with each other isn't going to help, I hope you realize that. It's just going to create more tension between you two."  
"I know," I said quietly, wiping tears from my eyes. "I just can't understand him anymore. He's so caught up with finding the Avatar that he thinks of nothing else. I don't get why he doesn't just give up. The Avatar hasn't been seen for over a hundred years. Why does he think that he'd be able to find him now?"  
Then, Uncle said something I will never forget. Five little words that made everything make sense. "The Avatar gives Zuko hope."  
I stopped arguing with Zuko after that. He needed something that gave him hope, something that he could grab a hold of so he wouldn't down in his ocean of heart wrenching troubles. Of course, since we only ever argued with each other, now we never talk. He seemed to learn to tolerate my presence after a while, but we never became even acquaintances after that. Now when I passed him in the corridors of the ship instead of glares, he didn't even look at me. Somehow that seemed worse than the glares. At least then he had acknowledged my presence.  
We were heading towards the area where we saw the light, when we saw a flare go up into the air and explode. Zuko whipped out his telescope and looked out in the direction. He scanned the area, and an evil smile spread across his face. He said loudly, "I've found the avatar! Follow him!"  
We sailed until we reached a wall built out of snow and ice. And just to be courteous, we smashed right into it. I flinched a little. They belonged to the water tribe, all these people living here. They were water benders, same as I was, and I was a part of the group of people who were destroying their village. It made me cringe.  
We walked off the ship- Zuko, Uncle, me, and a few crew members- and looked at the crowd of villagers. They consisted mostly of Women and children. There were no men. Only one boy, a little younger than I, who was on the ground in front of the gang plank. _What happened to them? _I wondered.  
The boy had a scared look on his face. Actually, everyone did. Who wouldn't though? I would be too if a giant fire nation ship smashed into _my_ village. Then, he stood up, and ran toward Zuko with the sword, yelling. Zuko easily knocked him off the gang plank into a pile of snow, where he became buried.  
Zuko walked out to the crowd of people, a look of determination on his face and said, "Where are you hiding him?"  
The villagers looked confused at this question. Zuko shot out his hand and grabbed an old lady from the crowd. All I was able to do was stare in horror. I couldn't interject and help these people. Zuko was WAY stronger than me and could easily do the same thing to me that he did to the boy.  
"He'd be about this age," said Zuko. "Master of all elements."  
The town's people just stared. The obviously didn't have any idea what Zuko was talking about. But he didn't stop. He threw the lady back, where, who I can only assume to be her granddaughter, caught her. He let out a burst of fire to the crowd, who shrank back in fear. "No!" I yelled and started towards them, but was restrained by Uncle. "Don't make him do something rash," he warned.  
"I know you're hiding him!" Zuko shouted.  
The boy in the snow freed himself and charged again. Zuko ducked his swipe sending him flying over his shoulder. Zuko let burst another burst of flames, this time at the boy, who barely missed it. The boy pulled out a boomerang from his belt and threw it at Zuko. Zuko dodged it and it went flying behind him. One of the little tribe boys said, "Show no fear!" and tossed the boy a spear. He stood up again and charged at Zuko. Zuko chopped off the end of the weapon and took it from the boy and then proceeded to poke him in the head with the end. The boy fell and Zuko snapped the shaft in half and threw it on the ground. Just then, the boomerang came back and slammed into the side of Zuko's head. He regained his balance and, with a new hatred glaring in his eyes, lit fire daggers. He was about to strike when he was swept off his feet! Something had rammed into him. It was a boy... on a penguin? The people of the water tribe cheered. _What the heck?_ I thought. The boy got off the penguin and looked at the boy who had attacked Zuko and the girl who had been with the old lady and was now with that boy. I guess they were siblings. "Hey Sokka, hey Katara," he said to them.  
"Hi Aang," the boy, Sokka, said in a bored voice. "Thanks for coming."  
Zuko rose and stood in a ready stance. The crew members spread out and began to close in on Aang. He stood still for a moment, and then blasted the snow at the crew members and Zuko, knocking them all off their feet. _He's an air bender! Could he be the Avatar?_  
"Looking for me?" Aang asked.  
"You're the air bender?" Zuko asked, his rage melting the snow on him. "You're the Avatar?!" Everyone, even the town's people looked confused by this.  
They began to circle each other. Zuko began talking. "I've been waiting years for this encounter; training, meditating. You're just a child!"  
Aang stopped. "Well you're just a teenager."  
Zuko attacked, and Aang fanned away the attack with his staff. Zuko attacked repeatedly, each time Aang was able to fend him off. Then, Aang stopped.  
"If I go with you," he said. "Will you promise to leave everyone alone?"  
Zuko stopped and nodded. Immediately, the crew grabbed Aang and led him aboard. Katara ran out a little bit and called, "No, Aang! Don't do this!" I wanted to do the _exact _same thing. How could he so calmly just go with Zuko?!  
He responded calmly, "Don't worry Katara. It'll be OK. Take care of Appa for me until I get back."  
"Head a course to the Fire Nation!" Zuko ordered. "I'm going home."  
I followed Uncle into the ship, and, before the gang plank was raised, looked back at Katara, who had tears in her eyes, and gave her a look the hopefully said, "I'm sorry." I truly was. The Avatar was supposed to save us all, not die at the hands of a banished fire nation prince. We need the Avatar. We need him to save us from the Fire Nation, not that I'd ever admit that to anyone. I've only ever been around people of the Fire Nation. I'd be killed on the spot if I said anything so treasonous.  
We stood on deck. Zuko took Aang's staff and examined it. "This will make an excellent gift for my father. I suppose you wouldn't know of fathers, being raised my monks." Aang looked offended by this. "Take the avatar to the prison hold. And take this to my quarters," he said, thrusting the staff towards Uncle. Uncle took it, and then handed it to the guard behind him and said, "Hey, you mind taking this to his quarters for me?" He walked off and followed Zuko.  
I couldn't help but chuckle at that. Uncle can always joke about something even during the most intense moments. I followed Uncle. He went off to his quarters to take a nap, so I went to mine and practiced a bit of water bending. I just tried the basics- lifting the water around my head and moving it through the room. Uncle told me that a good water bender has great stances and concentration, so I focused on making my stances and movements clean and crisp.  
I was bending the water around and over my head, when there came banging and people yelling from outside. All the noise broke my concentration, and the water fell and splashed down on my head. _Dang it! _I thought. _What's going on?  
_I opened my door and peered out. People running down the hall. One screamed, "The Avatar escaped!"  
_What?! _I ran down the hall, and to the surface, still soaking wet. Aang and Zuko were standing ready to fight. But a loud noise distracted them both. I sounded like the growling of some large animal. I looked to see a hug, furry animal flying towards us. It looked like... like a flying bison! But they had been extinct for a hundred years!  
"Appa!" The Avatar yelled, and turned just in time to fend off an attack from Zuko. Zuko attacked many time, and Aang fended them off until his staff was launched from his grip. He tried to fend off the next attacks, but there were too many. He fell off the edge and into the water.  
"Avatar! NOO!" I yelled. I couldn't help it! I ran Zuko, bending the water from on top of me and whipping it at him. This was the first time I had ever attacked someone with my bending. It all seemed to come naturally- the movements and flow of energy. I attacked, but he was still better than me. I was dodging most of the time, and his fire just evaporated my water. I could hear Katara from behind me yelling the Avatar's name, but it seemed to me another world entirely.  
But Zuko was much better than me. He'd been training his whole life with his fire bending, not trying to figure it out on his own. He was beating me, and just when I thought I would lose, something broke from the water. A column of spinning water, with the Avatar controlling it. His tattoo's and eyes were glowing blue. Zuko looked terrified.  
The Avatar landed on deck, and he began bending the column of water, taking out the other men who had come on deck and knocking Zuko into the water. I was able to shield myself from the attack, but just barely. I was knocked off my feet onto the other end of the deck. When I got back on my feet, I saw the bison had landed and the Avatar was lying on the ground. Sokka and Katara had hopped off the bison and were helping the Avatar. I ran over to him as well. Sokka had run to get Aang's staff, but a hand grabbed it too. It was Zuko! Sokka made him fall off again; doing the same thing Zuko had done to him, poking him in the head.  
I chucked and continued running over to the Avatar. I bowed to him and said, "Are alright, sir? I'm sorry Zuko did this to you."  
The Avatar was about to say something when Sokka jumped up with his sword, putting it up against my throat. I stood back, scared. "Your fire nation scum! You kidnapped Aang!"  
"No!" I protested. "No! Please don't think that! I had nothing to do with this! I was trying to help the Avatar!"  
"She's right, Sokka," Katara said. "Remember, she was attacking that guy after Aang fell. And she was water bending."  
Sokka glared at me, still keeping the sword at me neck. "Then why is she wearing Fire Nation clothes?"  
"Please-" I began, but was stopped by the Avatar saying, "I trust her. She helped me didn't she? That must mean she'd trust worthy."  
My heart swelled with pride. I got an amazing idea. I bowed deeply and asked, "Please, Avatar, may I accompany you on your journey? I don't care where you are going. I've been on this ship for three years with no one but my Uncle. I would be honored if you'd allow me to join you."  
The Avatar looked surprised at my question, but he regained he composer and smiled. He bowed back to me and said, "Of course you can!"  
"I don't mean to break up this fest, but we need to go. Now! Before we're burn to a crisp by fire benders," Sokka said. He was right; some of the men were getting to their feet. Katara began bending the water that was left on deck from the Avatar's attack. She fired it towards them, and it went backwards, freezing Sokka's feet to the deck. "Katara!" he shouted.  
She tried again, this time facing backwards. When she let go, the water sprayed back and froze three men. I unfroze Sokka's feet and we hopped on Appa and he took off. I looked back to the ship to see Uncle. I gasped. I never said good bye to him, the only person who had shown me love while I was on board that metal prison.  
"Goodbye, Uncle!" I shouted.  
He waved and then ran over to Zuko, who was almost on bored again.  
Zuko ordered something, and men stared fire bending at us. The Avatar ran over and redirected that huge fire ball. It rammed into the wall of ice next to us and created an avalanche, burying the ship in snow. I couldn't help but laugh along with the others.  
As we flew away, I thanked the Avatar again. He told me, "Please, call me Aang. And I never got your name."  
"It's Misao Mizuki. But you can call me Misa."  
Katara asked Aang excitedly, "How did you do that with the water?! That was amazing!"  
"I'd like to know too! That was too cool," I said. We both leaned in, wanting to know how Aang had done it.  
"I don't know. I just sort of did it," Aang replied, thinking.  
"Why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?" Katara asked.  
"Because," he looked away. "I never wanted to be."  
We were silent for a while. Katara talked first, "Aang, the world's been waiting the Avatar to return and finally put an end to this war.  
"And how am I going to do that?" Aang asked.  
"According to legend, you must first master Water, then Earth, then Fire, right?"  
"That's what the monks told me."  
"Well," Katara told him, "If we go to the North Pole, you can master water bending."  
Aang smiled. "We could learn it together! You me and Misa!"  
"Yeah!" I said excitedly.  
"So," Katara turned to me, "How did you end up on that Fire Nation ship?"  
"See, this is something you as _before_ you allow a person to come with you. Just so you, you know, can trust them!" Sokka said sarcastically.  
"Sokka, hush!" Katara said.  
"Well," I began. "It's kind of a long story..."  
"It'll take us at least two weeks to get to the North Pole. We've got a _lot_ of time," Aang said.  
"OK. Well, it all began when I was eight..."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I woke up slowly. It took me a little while to remember where I was and what had happened. But the memories of the previous day flooded back soon enough. And with them a wave of loneliness and, if you can believe it, home sickness. Mostly for Uncle.  
I sat up and stretched, looking around at my new friends. They were all sleeping still, including Appa who was snoring softly. Sokka seemed to be snoring as well. I chucked and went and washed my face in the river nearby.  
Soon Katara and Aang woke up.  
"Wait till you see it, guys! The air temple is one of the most beautiful places in the world!" Aang said excitedly as he tightened the reigns around Appa's horns.  
Katara and I looked as each other with worried expressions. "Aang," Katara began. "I know you're excited, but it's been 100 years since you've been home.  
"That's why I'm so excited!" Aang responded.  
"That's a long time Aang," I reasoned. "A lot can change."  
"I know. But I need to see it for myself," he said, jumping off Appa's back and running to Sokka, who was still asleep.  
Katara looked at me with sad eyes, and I whispered, "It'll be alright. We just have to tell him slowly."  
We looked over to Aang who was rubbing the branched of a stick up and down Sokka's sleeping bag saying, "Sokka! Wake up! There's a prickle snake in your sleeping bag!"  
Sokka screamed and began hopping around yelling, "Get it off! Get it off!" and then fell on his face. We all cracked up.  
"Great! You're awake! Let's go!" Aang said.

P.O.V. Zuko

We docked our ship in port the day after the Avatar incident. Anger surged through me again as I thought about it. How dare Misa just leave! She had no right to run off with the Avatar- my enemy, my only hope of returning home! She should have helped me capture him!

_Why would she?_ Something in the back of my brain asked. _She came with you on this journey and all you ever did was mistreat her and disrespect her. She's your friend! At least, she was._  
_Shut up! _I thought, pushing away the voice. It was wrong. I didn't do anything wrong.

P.O.V. Misa

The flight to the temple was so scenic and beautiful. But all Sokka was paying attention to was his stomach.  
"The Patola Mountain range! We're almost there!" Aang exclaimed.  
Katara, who was sitting next to him, began preparing Aang for the sight that we all knew he was going to see. "Before we get to the temple I want to talk to you about the air benders. I just want you to be prepared for what you might see. The Fire Nation is ruthless. They killed my mother. They could have done the same to your people."  
Aang was quiet for a moment then said, "Just because no one's seen has seen an air bender doesn't mean the Fire Nation killed them all. They probably escaped."  
"I know it's hard to except," Katara began.  
"You don't understand," Aang told her. "The only way to get to an air bender temple is on a flying bison. And I doubt the Fire Nation has any flying bison. Right Appa." Appa responded with a grunt.  
_They may not have bison, _I thought sadly. _But they do have those crazy flying machines._ I had seen them once while at the palace. They looked so strange and something about they just didn't seem right to me.  
I sighed. Looking up, I saw Sokka looking at me with scrutinizing eyes. We made eye contact and he quickly looked away. He still doesn't trust me. I guess he has a good reason not to. The Fire Nation both killed his mother and caused his father and the other men of his tribe to leave, basically leaving him in charge and putting a big burden on the shoulders of a boy.  
Suddenly, we angled upwards and quickly flew up and around the side of the mountain. My eyes began watering from the force of the air rushing past. We all tucked our heads, shielding from the winds. Then, we cleared the top of the mountain to reveal a huge castle-like structure on the mountain. Towers and stairs seemed be growing from the rocks! The sight was breath taking.  
"There it is," Aang said. "The Southern Air Temple!"  
"Wow! That's amazing!" I exclaimed.  
Aang continued flying towards the temple and told Appa, "We're home buddy. We're home."  
We quickly followed Aang up the slope as Sokka continued grumbling about his stomach.  
He pointed out different places but then trailed off and sighed.  
I walked up to him and put my hand on his shoulder lightly.  
"What's wrong?" I asked softly, though I was pretty sure I already knew.  
"This place used to be full of monks and lemurs and bison. Now there's just a bunch of weeds. I can't believe how much things have changed."  
I stood there for a second, unsure what to do. I couldn't tell him that he was going to find anything because, obviously, he wasn't. But I was saved from responding by Sokka who asked him to show him air ball. Aang face immediately lit up.  
As Sokka was blasted off the pedestal for the 7th time he groaned, "Making him feel better is putting me in a world of hurt." He picked himself up and then froze, looking off towards a snow bank.  
"Katara..." he said, "Check this out."  
Katara walked over to her brother and I slowly followed. On the ground was an old, half burnt fire nation helmet.  
"Fire Nation," Katara said sternly.  
"We should tell him," Sokka said.  
"Aang!" Katara called. "There's something you need to see."  
He came running over playing with the air ball. "Ok!"  
I watched him running over, all happy and cheerful. He was about to be crushed! He would know that his people truly _were_ dead. It was almost too much for me to bear. Then, I heard Sokka yell and turned to see him covered in snow and the helmet burred. Did the snow fall on it...  
"What is it?" Aang asked when he got there.  
"Uhhh... Just a new water bending technique I learned," Katara told him.  
So Katara couldn't do it. She couldn't take breaking this little boy's heart. So she resorted to lying to him. I know I wouldn't enjoy crushing Aang either, but lying to him is so much worse.  
Sokka took the words straight from my mouth when he told his sister he couldn't protect him forever. Katara just looked at the ground and started following Aang.  
Sokka kept pushing the subject. "Katara, fire benders were here."  
"Really, Katara," I said gently. "You can't hide that forever. He's going to notice it sooner or later."  
"I can keep it hidden for Aang's sake," Katara said. "If he finds out that the fire nation invaded his home, he'll be devastated.  
"But, Katara-" I began but was cut off by Aang.  
"Hey guys! I want you to meet somebody!" He said excitedly, pointing to a statue of a monk.  
"Who's that?" Sokka asked.  
Aang looked at the statue in awe. "Monk Giatzo. That greatest air bender in the world." He turned to us. "He taught us everything I know!" He turned again to the statue and bowed deeply.  
Aang stood there for a moment, seeming to be remembering something, then straightened. Katara put her hand on his shoulder. "You must miss him."  
"Yeah," he said slowly. He began walking away.  
"Where are you going, Aang," I asked.  
"The Air Temple Sanctuary," he said without looking back. "There's someone I'm ready to meet," he said cryptically.  
_Meet?_ I thought. _Who could possibly be there? _  
We followed him to a large wooden door with lots of pipes winding in all different directions.  
"Ummm, Aang? What is this?" I asked in awe.  
"The entrance to the Air Temple Sanctuary," He told me.  
Katara looked at me confused. "But no one could have survived in there for a hundred years."  
"It's not impossible," he reasoned. "I survived in the iceberg for that long."  
Katara thought for a second, and then said, "Good point."  
Aang was excited that whoever was in there could help him figure out his whole avatar thing, but Sokka could only think that the person would have food. I ran to the door, but instead of it opening, it caused him to face plant. "I don't suppose you have a key," Sokka asked.  
"They key is Airbending," Aang said. He got ready then sent two blasts into each pipe opening. Soon, each of the three large blue circular sets of pipes flipped over and the door opened. It revealed... darkness. Pitch black darkness. We slowly entered with Aang calling out, "Hello? Is anyone here?" We walked in, but quickly stopped. Inside were row upon row of stone statues set up in a spiral going up towards an invisible ceiling somewhere above.  
"Who... Who are these people...?" I asked slowly, looking all around.  
"I'm not sure," Aang began. "But it feels like I know them somehow."  
"Know them? How can that be? I mean, they're only statues, right?"  
"I don't think so, Misa," Katara said.  
"Look!" exclaimed Aang. "This one's an airbender!"  
"And this one's a water bender," Katara said about the one next to it.  
"It's a pattern," I noticed. "Water, Earth, Fire, and then Air."  
"The Avatar cycle," Aang said.  
"Do you think...?" I started.  
Katara picked up on my thought, "They're Avatars! Your past lives Aang!"  
Aang stood there in amazement. The sheer number of them would be enough to shock anyone.  
Sokka began criticizing Katara and I watched Aang go and stand in front of the last statue in the line. At first he was just looking. But then he seemed to be stuck in a trance. I began getting scared.  
"Aang!" I said, shaking him a little. "Oh my gosh Aang. Wake up!" He seemed to snap out of it. I stared at him. "What... just happened?!"  
"Huh?" he asked confused.  
I looked at the statue. "Who is that? He would be the Avatar before you, judging from the line, right?"  
"Yep. That's Avatar Roku," he said, nodding.  
Sokka and Katara came up from behind us. "You were a fire bender?!" Sokka exclaimed. "No wonder I didn't trust you when we first met." I saw him shoot me a glare from the corner of my eye. I'm not even a fire bender! But I guess know where he was coming from.  
"There's no writing. How do you know his name?" asked Katara.  
"I'm not sure... I just know it somehow."  
We stood therefore a while. The statues had begun to creep me out when all the sudden we saw something. Instinctively we hid behind the statues.  
"Keep quiet!" Sokka whispered loudly.  
"But you're talking!" Katara tried to argue but we all shushed her.  
Sokka sprang from behind the statue, barring is sword to the oncoming shadow.  
But instead of the fire nation soldier we all expected it to be, there was a monkey!

"Meat!" Sokka shouted joyfully and chased him, with Aang behind wanting it for a pet.

I looked at Katara with a raise brow. "I wonder if this will be a normal thing."

She just shrugged and we followed after them. We finally found them after hearing Sokka's shouts. Something was happening to Aang. He was glowing blue and rising off the ground. At first I was nothing but confused. But then I saw the bones that little the ground, and at the far end were bones wearing the clothes the statue of his teacher had had. The wind picked up and swirled around him, making a huge ball of dust and sand.

"Oh no!" Katara shouted over the roaring wind. "It's his Avatar spirit! I'm going to go try and clam him down."

"Well do it! Before he blows us off the mountain!" Sokka yelled.

She moved slowly, trying hard not to be blown backwards by the wind. When she was finally close enough she yelled, "I know you're upset. And I know how hard it is to lose the people you love! I went through the same thing when I lost my mom. Monk Giatzo and the other air benders may be gone, but you still have a family. Sokka, Misa, and I, we're your family now!"

Aang slowly began to descend, his winds weakening.

We walked up behind him smiling.

"We're not going to let anything happen to you," Sokka said softly.

"We'll all be right here to help you," I added smiling.

Sokka and I looked at one another and said together, "we promise." At least we had one thing we could agree on.

Katara grabbed his hand, and finally he stopped glowing, and collapsed. "I'm sorry" he said quietly.

"It's ok. It wasn't your fault," she said soothingly.

Aang came to the realization that if the fire benders had been able to find one temple, they must have found the others. "I really am the last air bender."

Though those words were like knifes in my heart, it was good he knew the reality.

We visited the sanctuary one last time before departing. We left with an extra companion, the flying lemur monkey now named Momo.

As we flew to our next destination, we watch the Southern Air Temple slowly disappear from sight behind the rolling clouds.


End file.
